Drum and Bass: the essence

Hundreds of performers around the world, dozens of festivals with at least a million fans and unforgettable dances. The history of drum and bass is really interesting and goes back almost thirty years. This genre of electronic music began as an offshoot of hardcore, was originally called jungle, and eventually changed beyond recognition.

The history

In the early 90s, when rave culture was actively developing in Britain, new musical styles began to appear. And among them, hardcore stood out especially fiercely. It was a completely new type of music that was played in abandoned warehouses or endless fields. It represented accelerated hip-hop beats, synthesizer losses and deeper, in comparison with other styles, bass.

The style suddenly became extremely popular, there were lots of fans. The tracks called “Trip to Trumpton” by Urban Hype and “Charly” by Prodigy were at the top of the charts. However, hardcore was destined to be forgotten.

Jungle VS drum and bass

Some left to play happy hardcore with crazy pianos and vocals in the style of “funny chipmunks”, while others chose jungle.

Until now, no one has come to a consensus on how jungle differs from drum and bass. Some music lovers believe that there is no difference, others – that recordings of the first half of the 90s can be considered jungle. Nowadays, many tend to call jungle only ragga-jungle – a subgenre of drum and bass. In the US, people use the term Jungle Drum and Bass, as if it can save you from confusion. But most frequently, these concepts are considered the same.

What an amazing situation: jungle and drum and bass are kind of very similar music, the former is the parent of the latter, but at the same time drum’n’bass is not a subgenre of jungle, it is an independent unit, another genre of electronic music that has a life of its own. However, in a bunch of musical styles, they very often go together – Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass – it’s usually written like that, as if hinting about the first phase of the genre’s development, and then about the second after the collapse of the first.

Is it popular?

The drum and bass style is one of the most popular musical trends among young people even nowadays. It was born, like many other genres of music that are quite popular now, in the late 80s and early 90s of the last century (as we have mentioned, it’s quite difficult to choose the exact year). The style is distinguished by a crisp beat, prominent bass and fast pace.

It is believed that the first track in the drum and bass style was the ’93 darkcore anthem Valley of the shadows. The word drum and bass, as we have mentioned, has been around for several years before. Back in the late 80s, at some pirate stations in Britain, the phrase drum and bass was used to characterize old funky and soul recordings. According to legend, the radio station Kiss FM had a Drum ‘n’ Bass style on Kiss FM intro.

Where to enjoy it?

The beauty of the genre can be appreciated by attending specialized parties and festivals. It is with a powerful sound that all the dynamism of drum-and-bass music is revealed. In concert clubs all over the world, such events are regularly organized. Excellent acoustics, high-quality equipment and a spacious dance floor of most establishments are exactly what lovers of this musical style need.

Speaking about the jungle, it is also actively used at all sorts of parties for young people. Such events are most often held in small clubs, both local DJs and guests from other cities and countries are invited to cooperate. So, we can say that drum & bass and jungle unite people.

DJs working in this musical style, for the most part, are the authors of the tracks, which they present at parties, so very often drum and bass parties are releases of one or another artist. Such performances, depending on the degree of popularity of the artist, are held at the venues of concert clubs of various sizes.

2000+

In the 2000s, drum and bass existed according to the canons laid down 10 years ago. During this period, a subgenre of drum and bass called liquid-funk emerged, influenced by disco. Vocal parts were often used in it. Its founder is Fabio, who released music on his own label, Creative Source. This direction was destined to become popular in 2003-2004 thanks to the labels HospitalRecords and Soul: R.

There was also dubwise, which became extremely popular quickly. It was produced by Amit, Tactile, The Fix. For those who consider drum and bass to be monotonous music, another genre has been created – drum funk, which is characterized by diverse, complex and constantly changing rhythmic figures.

In general, at the beginning of 2000, drum and bass had already gone beyond Britain and began to capture the hearts of listeners around the world. And it still continues doing it.